University lecturers and scientists have called on prime minister Rumen Radev to rethink his plan for a single textbook in history and civilisations, Bulgarian language and literature, and geography and economics. They presented their position today at a press conference at the BTA National Press Club. The Faculty of History at Sofia University "St Kliment Ohridski" organised the event.

The row began with a statement by Radev on 15 September, when he said there should be one textbook for each of the three subjects. Three Sofia University faculties – History, Slavic Studies, and Geology and Geography – replied with open letters. Lecturers and scientists from other universities and from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) joined them.

Academician Prof Ivan Ilchev of the Faculty of History warned that "introducing a single textbook will be the first step towards dictatorship".

Prof Milko Palangurski of the BAS Institute for Historical Studies presented the view of the academy's historians. He said the move targets the subjects that teach children to think as citizens. "Imposing one textbook means political censorship, and the teacher becomes a silent letter," Palangurski said. Prof Veselin Yanchev of the Faculty of History believes the aim is to give pupils the same standardised picture of Bulgaria and the world.

The dean of the Faculty of History, Prof Mira Markova, said teachers in most European countries choose between approved textbooks from different publishers. France has six leading textbook publishers and Spain has four big ones. Italy has about five or six leading publishing groups, and teaching aids are not approved centrally there. Poland uses a controlled version of the same model, and there are always at least three or four approved textbooks.

Markova said a single history textbook exists mainly in countries with undemocratic regimes, such as Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Belarus. She said categorically that having more than one textbook in history and civilisations is not the cause of the problems in education.

She also read out the letter against a single textbook in geography and economics. It is signed by Prof Kliment Naydenov, dean of the Faculty of Geology and Geography, and other lecturers.

The dean of the Faculty of Slavic Studies, Prof Amelia Licheva, read out her colleagues' letter. Other lecturers and writers have also backed it. The letter says a single textbook takes away trust in the teacher, who knows the pupils, their level and their needs. Licheva said the faculty has pressed for years to change how literature is taught in schools. She believes only people who want dictatorship and ideology back in education can defend one textbook.

Licheva said one literature textbook limits pupils' right to grow as citizens. It forces outdated uniformity of thought, a split into banned and allowed literature, and clichéd models and readings. Schools would then go back to the limits typical of undemocratic societies, she said. The subject "Bulgarian language and literature" has two curricula, one for language and one for literature, and a separate textbook for each.

Assoc Prof Svetoslav Zhivkov of the Faculty of History said all textbooks are written to the same curriculum, and the required topics appear in each of them. There may be two or three textbooks, or five, or ten, but each class uses only one, he said.

The writer Zahari Karabashliev writes books on historical themes, has school-age children and is editor-in-chief at a publishing house that does not publish textbooks. He said the idea of a single textbook is not a Bulgarian invention. Russia has had a single state history textbook since 2023. It will have one for Russian language and literature from 2027, and for geography by 2028. China introduced single textbooks for Chinese language, history and political education across the country in 2019. Vietnam has had one textbook for every subject since this school year. Greece was the only European country with a single textbook until this year, but the experiment failed and from this year it is going back to more textbooks.

Karabashliev said every reform must answer two questions. The first is why it is needed right now. The second is what evidence there is that it will meet specific needs in education.